Crap-free Christmas – alternative Advent Calendars
Depending on what you do, Advent calendars can be as low impact as last year's cardboard version with the doors stuck back down a la the 1980's, or plastic tat-tastic if you've been sucked into the idea that the kids should get a small thing each day (guilty as charged).
Here are a few ideas for Advent Calendars with less waste, less stuff and more of a focus on giving and doing:
"Advent-ure" calendar
(totally stole this word from one of the Clubhouse members!)
Aka Christmas-y things to do each day.
Instead of a chocolate or some plastic tat, pop in a slip of paper with a 'thing to do together' each day. This is a nice way of starting to try and shift the focus of your Christmas from 'stuff' to 'time spent together'.
Depending on the ages of your kids this could be things like "make mince pies", "star in your school nativity play", "visit the library to choose some Christmas books", "snuggle up and watch a Christmas movie"...
There's a whole printable list of ideas in the Crap-free Christmas course.
Acts of Kindness calendar
Similar to the above, but your slip of paper has suggestions for Random Acts of Kindness eg "send a card to the local nursing home" or "take some mince pies to a neighbour" etc
Reverse Advent calendar
Pop an item for the foodbank into a box each day (you might want to drop this off at the foodbank before Christmas eve to give them time to get it to those who need it)
Homemade Lego or jigsaw Advent Calendar
Fran in the Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse does her own homemade Lego version with a secondhand set from Vinted, putting in the right pieces for each instruction in the set each day. And I've seen other people break up a jigsaw puzzle to do together.
Photos from the year
I do this for my husband! I scroll back through our photos on our phones from the year, and get a selection printed out. Pop one a day into a numbered envelope and jumble them up. The idea is then to put them into an album come the New Year (we always fail miserably to do this...)
What are you doing Advent Calendar wise this year?
INTRODUCING THE CRAP-FREE CHRISTMAS COURSE!
Join me and a merry band of similarly challenged Crap-free Christmas wannabees as we dive into into the nitty gritty, the practicalities and the emotional minefields of a festive season with less crap and more joy!
